To Save a World
by JediKnightTiggr
Summary: post-apocalyptic world, gangs have arisen to maintain a sense of order. Gangs banded together, and formed a Government. Within this Government, Levy, a contracted code cypher, has discovered the location of a cure clinic held secret by the Government. However, her knowledge of the clinic has cost her dearly. Now on the run, she comes across a mercenary, Gajeel, to help her reach FT
1. Chapter 1: The Chase

In a post-apocalyptic world, gangs have arisen to maintain a sense of order in each of their respective areas. Years past, and several gangs banded together, and formed the current Government. Within this Government, a woman, Levy McGarden, a contracted code cypher and genius, has discovered the location of a cure clinic held secret by the Government. However, her knowledge of the clinic has cost her dearly. Now, while on the run, she stumbles across a mercenary, Gajeel Redfox, in an attempt to escape the forces on her tail and return to her home and gang, Fairy Tail. What secrets is this Government holding? And will Gajeel's past influence Levy's trust in the mercenary?

The Chase (1)

The downpour of rain was intense, washing out the sound of the loud splashes made by the footsteps from the figure within the darkness of night. The blue haired woman ran through the puddles of water and mud of the ruined world, with a crescent moon lighting her way. "I… need to find a… place to hide," she panted, hearing the yells of soldiers several yards behind her. Blood dripped from her chin, a small cut above her eyebrow from slipping on a root earlier. She kept an eye on her footing, ignoring the small branches that were cutting up her arms as she swiped them away.

"DO NOT LET HER ESCAPE MEN! SHE MUST BE RETURNED AT ALL COSTS!" a man yelled towards the military squadron, conviction burning in his eyes. The squadron replied in unison with a 'Yes, sir!'. They followed their CO's lead, as he followed the path left by their fugitive. "This will be easy, the rain will continue to give her location away, keep on these tracks, men!" he continued, brushing his wet, blue hair out of his field of vision, revealing a tattooed design around his right eye.

"Lt. Colonel, she's continuing North-East, are there any patrols we can contact to cut her off?" one of the squad members spoke out, curious as to how to handle the escapee.

"And let this mishap reach other squadrons? No, we can handle one little fugitive, we WILL get this situation under control, or there will be hell to pay, understand Gunnery Sergeant Mikazuchi?" he replied, an irritation in his voice at the thought of other squadrons hearing about the incident.

"Yes, sir," Mikazuchi replied, returning his focus to the chase.

The blue haired woman kept up her pace, looking for anywhere to hide out or something that could provide less evidence of her path. 'There's gotta be somewhere or something around here!' she yelled to herself, slowly losing attention to what lay ahead as she scouted around her. When she continued her gaze forward, however, it was too late. A small cliff lay ahead, and she quickly began to stop herself, slipping on the wet ground, catching herself on the ledge of the drop, heart pumping loudly in her chest. 'Shit...' she looked down at the drop, a river flowing with decent speed.

"We're closing in on her men! Do not let her escape!" she overheard, figuring that they were less than 100 yards away. "It's now or never, Levy. Deal with the squad chasing you, or chance the river, oh damn it all," she spoke to herself, weighing her odds. Before she could make a decision, the ground that was held on to crumbled under her hands, and slipped down into the raging waters 20 feet below. Levy blacked out as surprise overtook her, and the air left her lungs.

"Lt. Colonel, there's no sign of her! The trail ends cold at this ledge!" Mikazuchi announced, the CO approaching his position.

"Hmmm, either she has hidden in the surrounding foliage, or she took a dive," he looked around, surveying the area. "and judging from the lack of evidence suggesting the former, I'll bet on the latter. You four, find a way down there, see if she has held to the cliffside, or landed near the bank. Gunney, I shall accompany you and the rest of the men downstream. She's sure to resurface somewhere, and we will be sure to be there when she does."

"But, sir! If she's in the river, she'll be flowing with the current. How will we be able to catch her?!" a Private yelled, confused at the orders given.

"Well, that's a pretty shallow river there, Private, but you may be right. She may have had a chance to live," irritation clouded his voice again, grabbing the man by his uniform. "but I'm sure if you'd like to dive in after her yourself, you'd catch up no problem," he pulled him towards the edge, ready to let go at the slightest of disobedience.

"N-n-no… No, Sir!" the Private screamed out.

"What was that?"

"No, sir, Lt. Colonel Fernandes, sir!"

"Exactly, now get your asses moving down there and find me that woman!" he commanded, turning his attention back to Mikazuchi.

"Jellal, was that necessary?" Mikazuchi spoke as the remaining men scurried off to their destination.

"Simon, I'll say this once, while we are in the field, never use my name so informal. It's Lt. Colonel or sir, to you at this time. Secondly, I will not tolerate any questioning of my authority," Jellal strictly spoke, walking off in the direction of the others.

"Yes, sir," Simon quietly responded, following closely behind his CO.

Levy awoke, coughing out water, drenched and throbbing in pain. "Well, I'm obviously not dead, too much pain," she grunted out, sitting herself up and took a deep breath. "but, where am I? I need to… get to Fairy Tail…" She stood herself up, dizzy, and search around for something to lean against. She propped herself up against a large boulder, and searched for something to walk with, finding a decent sized branch to use as a makeshift crutch.

Looking to the sky, she noted the stars to ascertain her position. "It seems that river drifted to the South, I had better head North, follow the river, maybe I'll come across a town so I can figure out where I am," she began to head North, hiding herself in the forest, to avoid any military detection.

"Here we go…"

Meanwhile

"Damn… it's gonna be another long day... " a gruffy voice spoke. The man leaned back in his chair, boots lay resting on his desk, letting out a deep sigh as he finished up a meal and used a nail to clean his teeth like a toothpick. After finishing, he twirled the nail in his teeth, looking up at the ceiling. "It's been two damn weeks since a decent job came in that's worth my time, my shop may make some cash, but it sure as hell ain't enough," he grunted, spitting the nail out of his mouth, landing it right in the ceiling, alongside various other holes from previous nails.

The rain pattered against the metal roofing of his shop. There was a sign reading 'SCRAP YARD' with the 'D' slightly slanted due to lack of maintenance, part of the attachment had come undone. "I should probably get around to fixing that," he spoke to himself as it came to his mind, leaning back further, tossing his previously used utensils backwards, hoping to land them in the sink. He smirked as he heard the clatter of metal chime against each other, signaling his success. He stood up and opened up one of the countless tool drawers, picking out a work belt and strapping it on, sliding various tool in their appropriate holsters. "Well, now or never, if I get a job anytime soon I'll probably lay it off another damn month," he groaned, boredom taking over his attitude, and walked out into the pouring weather.

"Here we go…"

Author's Note

Hey everyone! hope you enjoyed the first chapter! and hope it reeled in your attention. it's been several years since my last fan fiction that I've written, and I figured where best to start off than a middle of a chase! but don't worry, things will clear up! Hope you all enjoy, and I'd love some feedback on what you all think. Thank You for taking the time to read! and Share with your friends!


	2. Chapter 2: The Encounter

Several hours had past since Levy began her trek North amongst the cover of the forest. The sun was beginning to break the horizon and rays could be seen from behind the Eastern mountain range. She was unsure how far she had travelled, and started to feel hunger kicking in. She had followed the river, yet no town was anywhere nearby. 'Geez, there must be a town somewhere along this river,' she had repeated to herself, for the upteenth time during her trek. Her alertness was beginning to dwindle as exhaustion settled in.

"I need… to get home…" she had panted to herself, trying her hardest to keep her eyes open.

Several yards of limping later, she overheard the sounds of machinery. 'Is that-?' she exclaimed to herself, mustering up enough strength to quicken her pace. She stumbled through the trees, coming across a large opening, revealing several buildings. Directly in front of her was a large iron-barred fence, spanning several hundred yards, behind which lay countless pieces of scrap metal. 'Finally, took you long enough to show up, accursed apocalypse...' she muttered to herself, looking for what may be an entrance to what she took in as a scrapyard.

Levy stumbled across a rough trail, reaching the entrance to the scrapyard. She could hear the drops of rain pound against the cold metallic objects within, resonating and making a strange, yet beautiful sound. She found it quite alluring, as she opened the gated door, nearly tripping on a large piece of iron a few feet within the pathway that was hidden, covered up by mud. 'Whoa! this place could be dangerous if I don't watch my step,' she thought, worried she would trip on more hidden metal scraps.

"Hello? Is anyone here?!" she cried out, her voice raspy from lack of food and water, but doing her best to be as loud as possible. "Can anyone help me?!"

"Lt. Colonel! Nothing has been washed ashore from the escape point," a Private reported.

"Hmmm, nothing you say? The men combed every inch of the bank?" Jellal asked, disappointed.

"Yes, sir. No traces, and this spot seems to be the only spot for miles where the river is calm enough for escape. Neither has a body has been spotted either, is it possible this is where she made it to land?"

"That would be the correct assumption, private. But, what do we say about assumptions?"

"Sir, yes, sir! I'll have the men scout the surrounding area for any traces of her being here," the private saluted, before quickly returning to several men of his squadron.

Jellal had grown irritated, with both the fugitive and his squadron. 'Nothing but worthless piles of-'

"Sir, look here, a bandana, I recall this was one the fugitive was wearing," Simon spoke out, interrupting Jellal's thoughts. "She was definitely here."

Jellal sighed, slightly relieved with the fact they had been able to pick up a hint to the whereabouts of their escapee. "Good work, Gunney. We'll comb this area for clues to see which direction she went."

"Jellal, sir-"

"What was that, Gunnery Sergeant?" Jellal snapped.

"Lt. Colonel, sir, I suggest she may have followed the riverbank North, sir," Simon responded, annoyed with the fact he continually was reminded of Jellal's less than hospitable nature while out on a mission.

"Is that so, Mikazuchi? Your explanation as to why?"

"Well, sir, when she escaped from the facility, she could have gone in any direction she wished. Why North-East? I believe that is where her destination lies, sir. Also, if lost sense of location, following the river would surely lead to a town," he responded.

Jellal smiled, and turned his attention Northward. "Very plausible argument, Gunney. However, I want any traces found to prove she went North. If any evidence left behind supports your theory, we shall head to the nearest town in that direction," he laughed softly to himself. 'You will not get away from us, Levy McGarden. You will pay for your treason.'

"Sir! We've found traces of foliage breakage in the trees. She appears to be headed North!"

"Well look at that, Mikazuchi, evidence. And, it supports your claim. Keep that quick thinking up, you may make a commanding officer someday. Alright, Privates, we're headed North! According to intel, Area 7 is the location of the town Northward of us." he smirked. 'Victory will be ours.'

"Yes, sir…" Simon groaned. "Alright, men, you hear your CO. Move out! Destination: Area 7!"

Gajeel looked up into the clouded sky, noticing the daybreak against the mountains. "Well, looks like the rain ain't gonna let up til later in the day, might as well get that damned 'D' fixed," he grunted, walking around to the side of the workshop, and picking up a large ladder, swinging it over his right shoulder with ease. He headed back to the front of the shop, setting the ladder up, raising it just over the second 'R' and began to climb up.

"Took me a damn month to get around to ya, nothin' had better get in my way now, guess this rain is good for something, keeping damned customers away," he stated, reaching up, settling himself on the 'R' and looking over at the broken attachment. Ripping out the broken nail in the center, he reached over with his right arm, tugging on the 'D' to bring it back into proper place, he placed his left arm over the top, applying pressure to hold it down, as he pulled the broken nail out of the 'D'. Pulling an extra nail out from his work belt, he drove it into the socket from the previous nail. He proceeded to apply a clamp to the top of the troublesome letter, and wrapped a rope within the handle, pulling it back to a oval ring that was used to previously set up the letter.

"There, that should hold long enough to get the weldin' equipment set up to keep this damn thing in place," he gruffly spoke, prepping his descent from the ladder.

"Can anyone help me?!" he heard a voice cry out. 'Damn it all… this rain ain't good for jack...'

Displeased by the sudden appearance of someone, he looked down to see a short, blue haired woman. 'What in the hell could a shrimp like that want?' he thought to himself, yelling back down to her. "I'm comin' down now! Hold up!"

Gajeel stanced himself, and slide down the ladder, landing himself in a puddle of mud, splashing his new customer. "Ha, how'd ya get so dirty?" he laughed to himself.

"EXCUSE ME. WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Levy yelled, angered at the increase of mud splattered over her. "You need to be careful with where you land!"

"Well excuse me for an accident, hard to see such a shrimp," he chuckled to himself, having no apologetic tone in his voice, tapping the top of her head repeatedly.

"Accident? You could see me clear as day!" she whacked his arm away, annoyed.

"Ya sure about that? A pipsqueak like you would be easy to miss!" he growled, bending over slightly to get eye level.

Levy trained her focus on his stare, her cheeks puffing up with rage, but before she knew it, she lost her footing and started to collapse, hunger taking its toll. 'Oh crap. . .' she thought to herself, slamming her head directly into Gajeel's and falling to the muddied ground.

Gajeel leaned back, rubbing his forehead as Levy collapsed. "Damn! What the hell was that for?!" he shouted angrily, reasserting his attention back to the woman. "Ya nee-" he stopped himself as he saw she lay there, dirtied up by the ground, and sighed.

"Damn, what the hell happened to ya?" he asked himself, crouching down to inspect the fallen Levy. "Hello? Ya awake? Tsk…" he picked her up, slinging her over his left shoulder. "This ain't how I planned on my day turning out," he groaned, then proceeded to turn and head back inside to his shop.

Twenty minutes later, Levy awoke, quickly forcing herself up, only to be ravaged by a huge headache, and a welt on her forehead. "What… happened?" she asked herself, dazed and confused. She looked around to see herself wrapped up in several blankets, in a drab looking room.

"Finally awake, eh shrimp?" Gajeel spoke, turning over from across the room. He had been working on what seemed to have been a project, but was quickly covered up as she turned her attention towards him. "What the devil happened to ya?"

"Where am I?" Levy questioned, rotating herself so her feet hung off the side of the bed, barely reaching the floor. She looked up at the man, he had long black hair, seemed rough and barely groomed. His eyes had a dark red color to them. He was well built, and even sitting down seemed almost taller than her. Piercings covered his face, above his eyebrows, sides of his nose, and along his chin. Cuts and scars bathed his left arm, but his right arm was covered up in a sleeve. 'That's a weird clothing style, only one sleeve,' she thought to herself, finally bringing herself back to reality. "What happened?"

"Didn't I just ask ya that? Ya just collapsed, slammed ya head right into mine, the hell is yer problem?" he grew irritated. "I brought ya inside, didn't need any trouble happenin' at my shop," he leaned back into his chair.

"T-thank you…" she quietly spoke, shivering from her damp clothing. A small blush, unbeknownst to her, appeared on her face.

"Think nothin' of it. Like I said, ain't gonna have any trouble happen at my shop," he grunted, standing himself up, walking to the doorway. "Now if yer done restin' up and need something, I can help ya out. If not, get outta here!"

Levy's previous sincere stature had been replaced at this moment with irritation. "Well excuse me! I did not expect to just pass out, you… you… inconsiderate jerk!"

"Inconsiderate?! The hell ya goin' on about! Didn't I just bring yer sorry ass inside from the rain, instead of leaving ya to get soaked about in the mud! I deserve some damned respect!" he yelled, walking over to get in her face with a cold, piercing glance.

"You-" but before she could blurt anything else, a large, grumbling sound erupted from nowhere. She looked down and hugged her sides. Her stomach decided to announce its presence, as well as its resolve to get food. "Uhmm… listen. I need help, but first… got any food?" she sheepishly chirped, in attempts to settle her hunger, as well as change the tone the conversation was going.

Gajeel busted a gut laughing, settling himself back into his chair as he roared. "First, ya come askin' for my help, then ya just collapse right outside my shop, and now ya askin' for food?! What do I look like a damned charity hospital?"

Levy's temper began to rise again. "Fine, I'll find help from someone else anyways, you lousy jerk," she began to stand up, but quickly fell to her knees, sore from the previous night. 'Crap… I pushed myself too much,' she punched the ground, regretting it instantly, pulling back her fist that now writhed in pain. "What the hell is this floor made of!?"

"Iron, ya dumbass. This is a scrapyard, I tend to use metal for a lot of things, including my shop," he chuckled watching her blow on her hand, reaching over to a mini-fridge, pulling out an apple. "Here, catch."

Levy looked up as the apple flew towards her, trying to catch it, having it hit her chest and landing on the floor. Picking it up, she glanced at it and brushed any dirt that may have been on it off on the blankets, and took a bite into it. 'Geez, sour, both of them,' she thought, giggling to herself. "Thanks, again."

"Tsk, don't bother," he reached for another apple before tearing his teeth into it, chewing obnoxiously loud. "Now, ya said ya need help, what's the issue?"

"Oh so now you're offering help?" she spoke, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Hey! If ya don't want it, don't ask for it. Last I checked, ya did! So either tell me, or get out!" he grumbled.

"Fine, fine, don't be so rude," she sighed. 'Great, of all the people I run across, I get an arrogant asshole!' she yelled, then did a double take at her choice of words. 'Whoops, don't often let my anger get the best of me, calm down, Levy.'

"So what's the problem?"

"If you'd let me finished, I'd get around to it. I need to know where I am, I'm trying to get home. I'm on the run from th- from some very unfriendly people."

"What'd ya do to piss them off?"

"That's none of your business! That aside, where are we?"

"Touchy touchy. Tsk. We're in a small town just outside of Waas Forest, dunno if we even have a town name, nothin' but a dump really," he groaned, finishing off his apple.

"Waas Forest, that's just South of here, yes? Ok, I know where I'm at. Now, are there any roads around here that lead to the main trade route?" she inquired, relieved to have had a better understanding on her location.

"Perhaps, but what's that gonna cost ya?"

"What do you mean!?" she exclaimed, confused at the sudden change of willingness to help.

"I said, what's that gonna cost ya? Ya deaf, pipsqueak? Ya seem to be in an awful big hurry, if I tell ya, what do I get outta it?" he smirked, hoping to score some cash. 'She asked for help, my help never comes for free.'

"I-I… I don't have any cash on me," she sulked, eyes aiming to the ground.

"Well we have a bit of a problem then, don't we?"

"All I'm asking for is a location to a road! You can't really be serious!" she yelled, tears beginning to well up.

Gajeel sighed, and leaned back, looking up at the countless holes left in his ceiling. "Alright fine, I'll tell ya. One condition, I wanna know who's after ya and why," he reached back into the fridge and tossed the lady another apple.

"I can't! I can't let anyone know!" she stomped her foot down, catching the apple this time, but neglecting to eat it, furious with the man's demands. "Listen, if you don't wanna help, I'll find someone else!" she stood up, taking a bite out of the apple and slowly limping towards the doorway.

"Tsk, whatever…" he grumbled, closing his eye as he heard his door slam shut.

"What an inconsiderate jerk! There are people like that in times like this?!" she slowly made her way to the entrance of the scrap yard, when she heard the cries of soldiers on a search patrol.

"Oh no…"

Author's Note

Alrighty everyone! hope you enjoyed the second chapter. I was so excited about the first one, I couldn't stop myself from writing the second. After a day's rest I was back at it! I do hope you enjoy, and as always, Thank You for reading, and continue to share with your friends!


	3. Chapter 3: The Start

"Search every property in this dump! Tear it apart until we find that woman! She'll be here, men, and we will bring her back! Dismissed!" Jellal yelled out to the gathering of his squadron, watching them scramble about as they divided up into groups to ransack the town in search for the fugitive. "You four, search amongst the trees a few miles, heading South. See if she collapsed or is still hiding within the forest.

"Sir, what if we are unable to locate her?" Simon turned to Jellal, inquiring about such a unwelcoming possibility.

"We will not let her escape, simple as that. But, if by some chance she does, there WILL be hell to pay," a strict, deadly stare focused on Simon.

"Yes, sir," Simon reasserted his focus to the search.

"Where could you be, petty woman?" Jellal stood at the south entrance of the town, looking to the eastern side to see where their fugitive could have come out from. "Where did you go?" he walked along the border of the town, most of which entered into the forest. He scouted, playing out different possible scenarios, as to speculate her location, within his mind. As he walked, he came across the edge of a scrapyard, noticing it went on for a few hundred yards.

'Oh, so this scrapheap spans the border a good majority compared to the rest of the town. After such an arduous trek, she would be simply to exhausted to continue. Question is, would she go to the first place she came across, or search for a more… hospitable abode.' He looked around the perimeter of the scrapyard, finding the entrance. The gate had been left open, 'Well, someone has been here. A customer, or our wanted criminal?'

"Gunnery Sergeant Mikazuchi, this is Lt. Colonel Fernandes, come towards the South Eastern side of the town, there will be a scrapyard, bring several men immediately, over," Jellal spoke into his short range communication module, eyes kept on the establishment.

"Sir! Have you found the fugitive, over?" Simon's reply came through, he had begun running from the sound of his voice.

"Call it more of a hunch," he leaned himself against the wall to the side of the gated entrance, patiently awaiting his men. 'No where to hide now, woman.'

Levy rushed herself back into the confines of the shop, her breathing staggered. 'Oh no, how'd they find me, this is bad,' she trembled in fear.

"Hey, hey. What's yer deal now? Thought ya were tryin' to find someone else to help ya out!" Gajeel barked, facing her down in confusion. "Hey, what's got ya so worked up, shrimp?" he noticed her composure, leaning over to look outside a window, seeing nothing there.

"I'll pay you. I don't have cash now, but if you can hide me, help me, anything, I'll pay you. At least to help me find someone who's better suited for something like I'm up against. Please, just… help me," Levy began to cry, worried that soon she'd be captured, or worse.

"Tsk… what's goin' on out there? Doesn't look like there is anythin' to be scared of," he tilted his focus back towards her.

"I-I heard the men that are after me, no doubt. Please, just help me," she pleaded, "I can assure you payment when I arrive home to my gang. Just hide me out now, and take me to someone who'll be able to provide more."

"Hey, ya thinkin' I ain't good enough? Tsk, ya need a lesson about who I am!" he growled. 'Just exactly what kinda trouble is this woman in?'

Simon had reached his destination within minutes of Jellal's orders. "Sir, is this the establishment?" he inquired, inspecting its state. "Are you sure she came here? Hardly seems hospitable.

"Look over there, Gunney. A good majority of the forest runs along the property line of this scrap yard. Now, if you were lost or exhausted, after entering an unfamiliar territory, would you try to find something hospitable, or settle on investigating your first option in view to obtain more info on the surrounding area?" Jellal responded, hoping Simon would realized the mistake in his questioning orders.

"Yes, sir. How shall we proceed?" he replied, getting the message quite clearly.

"I'll have you men secure the perimeter, in case she is there, and tries anything. Mikazuchi, you'll come with me, we're going to pay the shopkeeper a visit," Jellal smirked, brushing his damp blue hair out of his eyes.

"Yes, Sir!" the men yelled as they took their positions around the scrapyard, eyes kept alert for any signs of the fugitive.

Jellal opened the gated door further, leading Simon and himself inside the scrap heap. "Who in their right mind would come to such a place for help?" Simon questioned.

"Anyone desperate enough, and our little birdie is on the wrong side of the government. That seems to make things quite desperate for her." he proceeded on down towards the entrance of the shop. He inspected the surrounding area, seeing if the woman had maybe hidden among the sides of the building.

"Hey, hey, can I help ya with somethin'?" a gruff voice spoke out to him. "Whatcha think ya doin' snoopin' around my shop?"

Jellal turned to the man speaking, Simon walking up to his left side. "Excuse us, we're looking for someone, I was curious if you'd be able to help us," Jellal questioned Gajeel.

"Ain't nobody been around here today, except the two pisspots I'm lookin' at right now," the ruffian tilted his head, a cold stare aimed directly at Jellal. "Now, if ya need something, I'll be able to help ya out. If not, get out so I can get back to fixin' up my damn sign," he grunted, turning back a slight and pointing to the 'D' above the doorway.

"Well, if you're certain, would it be okay if we look around a bit, just in case the person we are looking for has perhaps hidden themselves here?" Simon inquired the man, who's posture gave away an irritated state.

"Damn, if it'll get ya outta here, do whatever the damn hell you please! If ya see anything ya wanna buy, bring it up to the shop. Tsk," Gajeel roared, turning his back to Jellal and Simon.

"How about, you let us search the shop?" Jellal pushed, his gaze focused intently on the ruffian before him.

"Who the hell… If ya think ya can just ask to search my shop I'm gonna let ya? Who the hell are ya guys?" Gajeel's stance got defensive, ready to leap forward any second to sock the blue-haired ass in his face.

"We are with the High Council Government, and you'd do best to show some respect," Simon retorted, hand on hilt of his sword, ready to strike in defense.

Gajeel's interest was peaked, raising an eyebrow, he thought to himself. 'So the pipsqueak has the government on her ass, oh this has got to be good, she'll owe me for this, big score here.'

"Mikazuchi, silence," Jellal began, watching Simon nod in assurance to his order, his posture softening. "Well, a ruffian like you obviously has issues with authority, no point in trying to argue there. So how's this, cooperate with us and we won't cause any… accidental damage in our search."

Gajeel growled. He could tell that this one was going to be a real pain. "Tsk, whatever. Yeah, come inside and look around if ya want. Still, only one's to come by today have been the two of ya," he walked up to his door, not bothering to hold it open for the soldiers. "Just don't wreck the damn place."

Jellal and Simon followed, opening the door and taking a glance around the place. It was a fairly small shop, front room seemed nearly empty aside from a large working desk. The proceeded to the back room, consisting of what made up nearly the rest of the shop. A small working desk with a mini-fridge beneath it, not far behind that was a countertop, with a sink and a pile of dishes that had begun to stack up. Finally an irregularly large bed, made up from what looked like pieces of scrap metal. Hell, a good majority of the shop looked like it had been made from various parts of metal found outside in the scraps.

"Is this all to the place?" Simon asked, looking for anything that may be used to hide a person.

"Aside from the restroom there to yer right, that's all there is. I do most of the work outside in the shed, now are we gonna have a problem? I ain't busy with customers, but I rather not have people just waste my time, search whatever ya want, but I'm tellin' ya, ain't nobody been here today, aside from yerselves," Gajeel grumbled, crossing his arms in annoyance.

Jellal took one last glance around the shop, before taking a deep breath and sighing. "Mikazuchi, we are leaving. Nothing to be found here," Jellal heaved, turning himself around and exiting the shop, disappointment in his eyes.

Simon provided one last curious look towards Gajeel, and nodded. "We appreciate your assistance, if you see anyone unfamiliar, be sure to notify us," he turned himself around and followed closely behind Jellal.

"Damn, what a pain… this had better be worth the trouble," Gajeel whispered to himself, eyeing the two figures from his window, paying close attention as they left the yard, and closing the curtains as he turned his attention towards the floor next to his bed.

"Alright, ya better start explainin', and we'll talk price. Gajeel Redfox is goin' to help ya out," he spoke, smirking as he pulled up a large iron floor piece, revealing a small bunker room.

Levy looked up as the light filled the bunker room, sighing in relief, that Gajeel had not decided to turn her in. 'One obstacle down, I only hope I can trust him,' she smiled, as his hand outstretched, grabbing it as she was pulled up.

"Well, it's kind of a long story…"

Author's Note

Hope you have enjoyed Chapter 3! Got pretty intense there huh? Is Jellal still suspicious on the subject? And what exactly happened to bring such a problem to Levy? Next chapter, you'll get a glimpse into the past, and meet some familiar faces! Thanks for reading everyone! And remember, share with your friends!


	4. Chapter 4: The History

The clatter of typing keyboards could be heard amongst the busy room filled with several groups of personnel. At one of the small desks, a small, blue-haired female sat, eyes intently staring at her desktop screen.. The screen, filled with countless letters and numbers, would not have made sense to anybody. Luckily, she wasn't just anybody. Levy McGarden speed read through the coding, her hands typing faster than everyone else in the room. ' _Sheesh, it's been non-stop work today, I need a break,'_ she leaned back, arms stretched out with her fingers entwined, releasing a good crackling sound.

She had just finished another line of coding for the High Council Government Electronic Security Sector. She monitored the firewalls as well as provided counter hacking intelligence, whenever that came across. Since the apocalyptic virus incurred, Hell had been raised on Earth. The first to go was a good majority of networking, and since most areas jurisdiction was fought over by different gangs, it was usually impossible to set up new hardlines. Gangs would either destroy the newly installed wires to get another's attention, or government officials would be caught in the turf war crossfire when attempting to install the hardware.

However, the areas that had been able to get hardlines installed for a network communication line without any issues, that is what she was contracted for. Occasionally, members of less cooperative gangs would access the networks in attempts to gather dirt and intel on the High Council, and it was her job to stop them. She couldn't understand why people wouldn't put more effort to help, rather than try to ruin, the government. These times really needed the unity of the people.

18 years ago, the apocalypse had brought unity, if only for a short time. People worked together to fight off the virus that devastated the lives of so many. Sadly, it wiped out three-fourths of the entire population, with no documented survivors, leaving a near wasteland in its ruin. With so few left, the virus had hardly any hosts to make its way through, and basically died out.

Gangs arose around a year later, in wake of belittling numbers, to try and maintain a sense of control. This is when the hostility began, and the people's unity was divided. The lust to be in control, the desire to do what was right, and the urge to defend the mistreated is what caused so many fights, and continued bloodshed.

After having a nearly won the battle against the virus, the next enemy was themselves. People banded together forvarying reasons, to defend each of their respective gangs. Leaders, consisting of ruthless criminals, doctors, former mayors, and in some cases even teenagers, all fought for control. To each, their own reason to lead, and in turn, their own reason to kill. Very few gangs had formed in more remote locations, keeping to themselves, and keeping a more calm, organized stature.

After several months of discontent among gangs, the violence died down after territories had been established, but there was still anger and hatred amongst them. Every now and then some battle over territories would occur, and once in awhile, a gang would be wiped out or would split due to power struggles. Regardless, times were peaceful, all things considered.

It wasn't until 5 years later that a few of the more organized gangs met together, and formed what is now the High Council Government. They had a bit of a rough patch getting it all together, but there was enough support from many of the non-gang-lead citizens to get it rolling. Yet, until 3 years ago, a good majority of what the Council would try to enforce was mocked and defied by unsupportive gangs, but lately the government had a bit more power to enforce order and control.

 _'Its like a big brother trying to boss a moody little sister around, it'll take time before anyone will listen,'_ Levy chuckled, thinking on the situation. She herself didn't have much of an opinion on the matter, but when she was contracted, she felt like it'd be a strong way to start change, and make the world a more unified place. She knew the government was forceful, but considering the day and age they lived in, you had to be.

Levy leaned forward in her chair, removing her glasses, and reaching out for her cup. A pout formed when she felt the emptiness of her drink. _'Oops, guess I drank all my coffee,'_ she sighed, standing up with cup in hand, and walked towards the break room. Her pout increased when she saw the pot was empty. 'And now I have to brew some more and wait longer!'

She huffed as she dumped the previous filter out of the machine, and replaced it. After starting up the brew process, she slumped into one of the chairs within the room and laid her head on a table. _'I work way too much… I need a vacation. Maybe I'll trip back to Fairy Tail soon, check up on everyone_ ,' she smiled, thinking of her home.

Fairy Tail had been one of the more peaceful gangs to arise from the apocalypse. It had been founded by a former militant general, Mavis Vermillion. Despite her military background, she was quite a kind-hearted soul, which is what caused deep grief when she had been struck by the virus. It caught everyone off guard, yet Mavis remained strong. She instructed everyone how to proceed with the disposal of her body, as to not spread her infection and lead to the wipe out of Fairy Tail itself.

Her former second-in-command, Makarov Dreyar, took up the mantle as the leader soon after, and much like Mavis, had a warm heart. He saw everyone in Fairy Tail as his children, his family. Majority of us actually call him Gramps most the time.

Levy laughed at a few precious memories of home, when a sudden tap on her shoulder caused her to jump and lose composure. "Wha-what's up?" she looked up at the familiar, blonde haired face.

The blonde laughed hysterically, and pulled Levy into a hug. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry Levy. I didn't mean to startle you! You looked seriously deep in thought! It was cute!"

"Lucy! Come on! It wasn't that funny!" Levy couldn't help the laugh she tried to hold back, smiling and returning the hug.

Lucy Heartfilia was the daughter to a rich noble family whose finances helped support the High Council. She was quite gifted at coding herself, but provided more of a liaison role to the Security Sector. She was the one to which gave the reports of all happenings to the higher ups. It was funny, with her status, she didn't need a job, but always felt like she had to put some effort into her life. When she had met Levy a year and a half ago, she requested a transfer to the ESS, to be closer to her new (and might be her only) friend.

"I know, I know. But you just seemed so lost in thought; even after I called out your name several times, you were completely unfazed!" Lucy took up a chair next to her, pulling a cup with steam rising from it to her mouth and taking a sip. "What were you thinking about?" she giggled.

Levy took in a deep breath, regaining her composure. "Oh just Fairy Tail, and how I miss it. I've been thinking about taking a vacation, check in with everyone," she smiled, imagining how exciting her reunion would be.

"Ah, Fairy Tail, that's your home isn't it? Where most of your whacky stories come from?" Lucy had heard many stories from Levy about her time in Fairy Tail, and found it fascinating and uplifting. "You always make them out to be such a happy bunch! I know, when you do decide to go on that vacation, I'll join you! I'd love to meet them!" She chirped.

"That would be fantastic, Lu! You'd fit right in! Though, watch out, they are a rowdy bunch! You'd love Gramps, he's such a kind man! Greatest leader ever! Erza, she's like the gang babysitter, whenever anyone gets into a fight, she's there to break it up! Elfman, he's always boasting how much of a man he is, challenging anyone to a one-on-one to prove his strength. Gray is a bit of a perv, he grew up in an extremely cold climate or something, he never really talks about it. But because of that, he's always stripping down to nearly nothing! there's also Jet an-" a frown appeared on Levy's face. _'Oh no… I was so caught up in the excitement..'_ tears began to stream down her face.

Lucy heard small sobs escape from Levy, and hugged her tightly. "Whoa whoa, what's wrong? You were so excited a second ago!"

"Sorry, I got… caught up in excitement of you being at Fairy Tail…" she wiped away her tears. _'That's right… Droy. He died, two years ago. I can't believe I forgot… that was when I last visited Fairy Tail. His funeral.'_ she sat upright again, patting Lucy on the back.

"T-two years ago, while I was just getting settled in at my job here, I got some terrible news. I'm not clear on all the details, but someone had hired a mercenary to provide safe passage to Fairy Tail during a drop off, but an unknown third-party had showed , Droy, Natsu and Gray were the members at the drop off. The mercenary and Fairy Tail was offered a deal, not to intervene and hand over the man, when our members protested, the mercenary just took off. Apparently the third-party killed the man that was traded off. Things got heated and Droy was stabbed, fatally. They took off after Droy fell. Jet and Gray hurried Droy back to our doctor, Porlyusica, but Natsu… he ran off and chased down whoever stabbed Droy. We haven't heard from or seen any trace of him since then," tears began to flow again as Lucy held her close.

"Droy died soon after, but we never found Natsu. No body, just… disappeared, without a trace," her voice broke, "we thought he may still be after the men after a week had passed, but no word on him, and we feared the worst, but with the lack of a body, we thought he may have been captured and kept prisoner. They had sent out scouts for information on the third-party, but no one knew anything. I left here that second week after the incident, and attended the funeral event held for Droy, our hopes still high for Natsu's survival. But, it's been two years… so it's highly unlikely that he's still alive," Levy reached over for a napkin, wiping her tears and blowing her nose.

"Oh Levy… tha-that's terrible!" Lucy just sat there, arms wrapped around her tightly.

"It's okay. It's a hard thing to forget, but they wouldn't want us to be sad and mourn them forever, thanks Lu," she smiled, breaking away from her hug, taking in a deep breath. She looked over to the coffee pot, seeing it had been filled up. She stood herself up and poured a cup, stirring a few packets of sugar and cream. "But I am sure, you'd fall in love with Fairy Tail, they are such a kind hearted group, never an ounce of boredom with them," she managed a smile.

Lucy nodded, smiling back at the strong woman. "I'm sure. Next time you go, I'll come with!" she held up her hand for a high five.

"You got it, girl!" Levy responded, their hands meeting midair, resonating through the break room. "Well, I best get back to work, now that I got my coffee, the day won't drag on!"

"Agreed!"

The two ladies exchanged their final smiles, before heading back to their respective desks, getting back to the tasks at hand.

Levy slammed the door behind her as she walked into the cool room of her workplace apartment. "Ahhh, it's so nice to be home!" she flung her shoes off towards the corner of the entryway, and slid across the hallway, jumping onto her sofa. "Ugh, such a long day!" she sighed, staring up at her ceiling.

She had to stay an extra three hours. apparently they had set up a new hardline in a city, which required some code monitoring as it was set up. Several of her co-workers stayed behind to help. 'Things have really been moving along now, haven't they?' she said to herself, thinking about the fast pace at which the government has been progressing. It was a miracle, and from what she could understand, things were going quiet peaceful. She gave way to her exhaustion, closing her eyes and falling asleep quickly.

Levy was awoken by a sudden loud knocking on her door. _'Hnn… what time is it?'_ she groggily stood herself up, looking at the clock that stood up against the wall. "3:15? who the heck could that be at this hour?" she grumbled. _'I swear if it's those damned neighbors drunk off their ass again, I'm going to kill them.'_

"Hold on, hold on! Lemme get dressed," she screamed out to the door, before looking down and realizing she had fallen asleep in her clothing. 'Oh, nevermind then, I'm dressed,' she made her way to the door, unlocking it and swinging it open, the brightness of the hallway blinding her.

"Levy! Thank God! I need your help!" Lucy cried out.

Levy's eyes adjusted to the light, as everything that was blurry before started to become more clear. "Lu? What are you here so late?" she averted her eyes to a covered figure leaned up against her, and mouth gaped wide. "Who the heck is that?! What happened?"

Lucy was pulled inside the apartment room along with the covered figure, the door slammed quietly behind them. "I didn't know where else to go, Levy. You're the only friend I have here, the only one I can trust! We have to help him!"

"Who is he, Lucy? What's going on here?" she pleaded for answers, watching Lucy lay the man on her sofa. Levy walked over, watching Lucy sit down, holding the stranger's head in her lap.

"I don't know! I found him like this… they were gonna kill him!" Lucy cried out, tears filling her eyes.

"Who was gonna kill him?" Levy stared at the shadowed face, it had looked familiar, but couldn't be sure until he was uncovered.

"The scientists at the R&D Lab!"

"R&D LAB?! As in.. the High Council Government? Why would the scientist be trying to kill him?!" Levy shouted in surprise.

Lucy quickly covered her mouth. "Shh! Quiet!" she removed her hand after Levy had nodded in acknowledgement. "I was finishing up the reports for today, and when I had asked where my superior Kyoka had gone, I learned she was on her way to the R&D labs. I remembered she had wanted to talk to me about something important, and asked to come see here when I was finished with the reports. I was planning on catching up to her, but she must have gotten there before I could make it. I dont have the security clearance to enter, so I thought I'd just wait around a few minutes before leaving." she took a deep breath before continuing.

"That's when I overheard two of the scientists to the side of the building. It caught my curiosity, so I sneaked around to get a better listen. They said something about failed experiment and disposal. Something must have happened, because just before they were about to load him up in a vehicle, they were called back inside, fretting about a boss or report or something. I took that opportunity to take a gander at what was in the bag. That's when I found him!" she looked down at the stranger, caressing his cheek.

"He was barely breathing when I got him out of there, I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't let them kill someone! How could they do that!" Tears rolled down her cheek, landing on the man's face.

"Lucy…" Levy began, looking down at him, then back at her, nodding in agreement. "You're right. You did good! We've got to figure out who he is and what they were doing, we won't let him die!" she laughed. "Told you, this is exactly the kind of spirit that fills Fairy Tail."

Lucy laughed in return, smiling. "We need to get him cleaned up, do you have any towels?"

"Yeah, let me get a few, we'll get him cleaned up," she stood up and turned to the hallway, walking to a closet and pulling out a towel and a small washcloth. After rushing to the kitchen and running the washcloth under some water, and returned to Lucy and the mysterious man.

She looked down at the now uncovered face, and tears began to well up in her eyes. The towel and washcloth dropped from her hands suddenly as she rushed over and fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Levy… what's wrong?" Lucy was confused, startled by the sudden change of attitude.

Levy looked up at Lucy, and tried her hardest to form words. "That's… Natsu…"

Author's Note

TADA! What a Cliffhanger eh! please don't kill me! It's Natsu?! What?! Exactly. this was actually quite a long chapter. I wanted to make it longer, having the flashback only go for one chapter, but I had so much to explain it felt this is a good place to end it off for now. Hope you all enjoyed and are looking forward to the next chapter! (which may end up being short like 1&3) Thanks for all the reads! and don't forget to make comments and reviews! and share with all your friends if you really like it!


	5. Chapter 5: The Reason

"That's… Natsu…" Levy had tears streaming, as Lucy looked down at the sleeping man, shocked.

"Wait… you mean, Natsu? From Fairy Tail? But didn't you say he got kidnapped?!" Lucy exclaimed, surprised at the identity of the stranger she had saved. "But what was he doing in the Research and Development Department?!" confusion filled her voice.

"I-I don't know! We figured he had been taken prisoner by the gang who had killed Droy, but we… never found… any information on them. Not even a name… You don't think, that was actually government officials?" Levy questioned her trust in the High Council at this point, countless of ideas flowing through her mind as to Natsu's reason for being here, hugging him gently, having missed her friend who had been presumed dead.

"Levy, remember, I overheard 'experiments' from the scientists, you don't think-"

"I am thinking a lot, but I KNOW we're going to get to the bottom of this," her voice became fierce, anger filled her eyes. ' _No one, not even a damned government messes with my friends… No. My Family!'_

Levy stood up and went over to her computer, accessing the security mainframe. "I'm going to hack into the R&D research files, and learn exactly what's going on!" her fingers began typing extremely quick, eyes glued to the screen as Lucy looked over from afar, keeping the sleeping Natsu within her lap.

"But, how? The firewalls, and won't they realized something if they get an alert?" Lucy asked, worried, for bother her and her best friend's safety.

"Firewall?" Levy scoffed, a tiny bit of arrogance could be heard in her voice. "Remember, I prevent hackers for a living, I know all their secrets, backdoors, and how to disable the trip alerts. Who better to do some digging, than someone who prevents others from the same shit," she looked over at Lucy, reassuring her skills as a coder. She averted her attention down to Natsu, a smile appearing on her face. ' _I'm so glad you're alive, everyone will be.'_

Lucy nodded at Levy as her eyes glued back to her screen once again, numbers and letters appearing on the screen, but that didn't faze the blue-haired genius one bit. ' _Never thought I'd be hacking into my own workplace, I wonder if this is why there have been an increase in hacking attempts recently?'_ she pondered, bypassing the alert coding, and entering into the backdoor network. "I'm in, Lu."

Lucy kept her eyes focused on the young man resting in her lap. ' _You poor thing, what did they do to you. How could they do this to you? This isn't right… we need to get you home, back to Fairy Tail,'_ she smiled, tears beginning to slow down, but a few still managed to fall onto Natsu's face. ' _He's kinda cute, despite his condition. Levy never told me that,'_ she thought, leaning over and pressing her forehead against his.

"What the hell-" Levy gasped, reading over several documents on different testing operations. "Lucy, you need to check this out, what the hell am I looking at?" Horror stuck Levy's face, her hands covering her mouth as she continued to read on.

"Uhm, I'm kinda stuck," Lucy chuckled, referring to her lack of mobility as she held pink-haired man in her lap still. ' _Levy must be severely pissed, I've never heard her swear so much, this can't be good, for anyone,'_ she was scared to even look at what was documented. "Can you read it back to me? I don't wanna move and disturb him."

Levy nodded, and browsed through the files to pick one to read. One file stood out above the rest, ' **Codename: Pinky** ,' only thinking of it relating to Natsu's pink hair. ' _Those bastards, didn't even know his name and degraded him to that!'_ she double clicked the file and began aloud.

 ** _December 16, A016. 2250_. _Patrol radioed in, notified of new test subject retrieval. Minimal damage to subject, will do thorough examination upon arrival of status before testing. (Audio)_** _ **-Kyoka**_

 _ **December 17, A016. 0047. Test subject arrives, full body examination and check up begins. No major damage to internal organs. No damaged bones, few bruises found among abdomend, as well as a minor concussion. Will provide excellent conditions for data after recovery. Will maintain a steady sedation until fully recovered. (Video/Audio)**_ _ **-Kyoka**_

 _ **December 23, A016. 0900. After a full recovery check up, I shall halt the sedation drug. Applying proper restraints, shall await for test subject to regain consciousness to begin questioning. Shall issue Codename: Pinky. (Video/Audio)**_ _ **-Kyoka**_

 _ **December 23, A016. 1315. Pinky has regain consciousness. Severe confusion upon awakening. Shall interview for medical conditions. See attachment for full interview. (Video/Audio)**_ _ **-Kyoka**_

 _ **December 23, A016. 1400. After having difficulties with cooperation from Pinky, I administer emotional inhibitor drug. Compliance quickly settled in, finished interview. See attachment for interview. (Video/Audio)**_ _ **-Kyoka**_

Lucy and Levy began to listen to the interview audio, unable to bring themselves to see the videos themselves. There they saw Lucy's superior, Kyoka, administering the interview. Both of their faces stricken in pain and horror. "How… could they do that!" Lucy angrily yelled, balling up her fists as tears streamed once again. Levy's anger kept her tears at bay, but they would come, soon enough. ' _Dispicable… I won't let them get away with this.'_

 _ **December 24, A016. 0800. Blood sample taken from Pinky, applied genetic altering serum to sample. Instant degeneration of material, must rework makeup of HeatLife serum. (Video/Audio)**_ _ **-Minerva**_

Levy browsed over the list, anger rising with each passing entry that was read aloud. ' _This is inhumane! Why are they doing this?! I can't allow this to continue...'_ the tears began to fall as she continued reading. Lucy just held Natsu closer, feeling sorrow for what had been done to him.

 _ **October 17, A017 1857. After 267 trial samples, we've perfected the serum. Blood sample test 68 proved no degeneration of material, and complete meld into the DNA sequence. Shall move onto full injection after several more test runs and physical evaluations. (Video/Audio)**_ _ **-Minerva**_

 _ **November 17, A017. 1500. Moved Pinky into injection containment, attempting infusion of HeatLife serum at precisely 1700. Heavily sedated for transfer and properly restrained.(Video/Audio)**_ _ **-Kyoka**_

 _ **November 17, A017. 1700. Began the infusing process. All vitals normal. Process providing test result data in file attachment. ( )**_ _ **-Kyoka**_

Levy clicked on the result data, trying to make odds and ends about what it inferred. ' _I may know how to hack a system, but I'm certainly no geneticist.'_ she frowned, but from what she read, less than three-fourths of the results came up as failure to the experiment. ' _Oh no… is this why they had him set for disposal?'_

 _ **November 17, A017. 1950. 78.96% of the results came out negative. While overall process was a success, it will be an ultimate failure. We shall study the after effects for the next few months to determine full aptitude of infusion of serum. (Video/Audio)**_ _ **-Kyoka**_

 _ **March 27, A018. 2100. After several months of post-injection testing, results are less than hoped for. While a significant increase in resistance was noted, it has failed to meet required expectations. Will move to disposal in 48 hours after final testing. (Video/Audio)**_ _ **-Kyoka**_

Lucy perked her attention towards Levy once more. "That was two days ago? I was literally just outside of the R&D at 9 o'clock when I overheard the commotion from the scientists," she faced Natsu again, caressing his cheek. "You poor thing… Levy, what exactly was that serum?"

"From what I read, what they tested on him was a harsh environment serum, mainly extreme heat. They look to be trying to find ways to have populace in less than hospitable climates by using these experiments. However, I'm sure they also had more militaristic ideas behind this," she huffed, completely distraught over what had been read. "Apparently they tried aquatic testing several years prior. From what it looks like, it was brought forward after learning of a rival government began harsh cold environment genetics testing. I could only imagine this would be a strive for power. But, this isn't right. None of it is, how could they do this!" Levy began to cry, only imagining the kind of torture and pain Natsu must have gone through.

"Levy, what are we going to do?" Lucy cried, scared of their current situation, and their new knowledge behind what they thought was a rightful government. "We can't let them continue this."

"And we won't, I promise." Levy stood up from her computer and knelt down next to Lucy and Natsu, staring intently at her friends. "But, we need to get him away from her. Lucy, I need your help," she looked up at the blonde with heartfelt eyes.

"Anything! We're in this together now. What have you got in mind?" Lucy wiped away her tears, her facial expression growing more serious.

* * *

"But Levy! What about you?! You need to come with me!" Lucy cried out after hearing Levy's plan.

"No, like I said, I need you to get Natsu back to Fairy Tail. I need to stay behind, and work on stopping everything they have going on here."

"But-" she argued, but was cut off.

"No buts. I need to stay behind. I'll stay as short as I can, but as long as I need to. I'll work on a virus to delete the database of their research, as well as gather more intel on their plans. We're gonna put a halt to this." Levy retorted defiantly. ' _Who'd have thought... two years ago when I took this job, I'd be plotting to ruin it now,'_ she hung her head ashamed at all she had done, defending a corrupt government.

"Do you think you'll be able to find a way out there?"

"Hmmmm. I could explain to my father that I am on some recruitment mission for Security staff. He doesn't delve into my business life much, usually he complains about how 'rich we are, and how unimportant it is to have a proper job' bull. Yeah, I'll come up with some sort of excuse, and get this cutie back home," a determined Lucy answered, smiling down at Natsu.

Levy chuckled at Lucy's use of 'cutie.' ' _I don't think she realized what she said.'_

Lucy glanced over at Levy, confused at her chuckling. "What on Earthland could be so funny at a time like this?"

Levy quickly stopped and looked away. "Nothing! Just, ironic. How earlier today, we were talking about vacationing to Fairy Tail, and how you planned to come with me next time I go. Here we are, I'm sending you to Fairy Tail without me," she answered, hoping to avoid her real reason behind the chuckle.

Lucy smiled slightly. "Yeah, that is true, what a turn of events, so what do we do right now?" her smiled disappeared as fast as it had appeared.

"Right now, we need to get you two on your way to Fairy Tail, immediately. We can't risk getting Natsu to a hospital around here. Someone is bound to notice. The sooner you can get him home, the better. Porlyusica can take care of him there, he'll be fine. But you'll have to leave as soon as possible."

Lucy nodded as Levy helped her and Natsu up, carrying him over to the entryway. "I'll send out for a family carriage as I reach home, and keep Natsu hidden. I'll make sure to make the trip for myself, I'll notify you as soon as I reach Fairy Tail," Lucy exited the apartment room, turning back to Levy. "Promise… promise me you'll come, as soon as you can. If you get caught, you'll be killed. I can't lose my best friend," she began to tear up again for the thousandth time this night.

"I promise. Besides, I won't get caught. I'm the greatest coder this government employed. No one will notice a thing. And once I'm finished here, I'll leave for Fairy Tail right away," Levy hugged Lucy tightly, taking care not to injure the already damaged Natsu. "Just get him to safety."

Lucy nodded and said her farewell. Levy watched as she watched her carry Natsu. ' _I'm so glad you're still alive, and best of luck to the both of you, be safe,'_ were her final thoughts before closing the door behind her and walking back over to her desktop. "Now, time to plan the fall of this wretched government."

 **Author's Note**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this little backstory (though to clarify, everything posted is not what Levy has told everything to Gajeel, but more of what happened, she will leave key details out that effect events later on in the story) Please leave your comments and reviews and lemme know whatcha think! Hope you all are enjoying, and be sure to share with your friends! Thank you again!**


	6. Chapter 6: The Acceptance

Gajeel sat back and listened to Levy's story, as she explained her situation. "Well, after my friend came to me in the middle of the night carrying a friend from my home gang, she explained how she overheard that he was left for what the Research and Development called 'disposal'. He had gone missing two years prior, presumed dead. When I hacked into the server for R&D to find out more to what had been going on, it was atrocious," her voice cracked as tears began to well up.

"They had kidnapped him for experimentation. I wasn't going to stand for it!" anger filled her voice now. "and so I sent off my friend to my gang, taking him home, and to inform them of the situation. I spent the last year digging for more intel. I found that they had also begun testing a second virus and cure, to control the masses as well as the disobedient gangs. Roughly a week later, something had changed, there was a new firewall, one I wasn't entirely familiar with," she began to choke on her words. "I messed up, and the found out what I had been doing. I took that last stride, injecting the virus into the R&D server, wiping everything, before I made my escape, and now, I'm here explaining this and wasting important time!"

Gajeel could tell she was frustrated, it showed in her expressions, and her voice. "that's why I need to get home as soon as possible. No one else knows the location of the clinic, including my gang. I hid the whereabouts of my origins. No one knows where I am headed, where I'm from. No one can know. So, can you help me?" she looked at him desperately, afraid of his reaction, and whether or not he'd return her to the High Council.

"So basically… ya found a dirty secret that harmed everyone, covered yer tracks, get discovered, fucked their shit up royally, and escaped. Just to end up lucky enough to run into possibly the only neutral mercenary left, where I helped you get away from that annoyin' bastard and his search party, sound about right?" Gajeel huffed, summarizing up a semi-long story rather quickly.

Levy stared in awe at his simplicity, 'Is that all I really need to say? That I managed to screw over the government and was on the run?' she giggled a bit, laughing at him. "Uhmm.. yeah. Pretty much."

Gajeel leaned back looking at the countless holes up in the ceiling, grabbing another apple from his fridge and taking a bite into it. 'Hmmm… should I get involved in this shrimp? I did say I'd help. I'm sure I'll get payment enough from her gang, whoever that is. I'll ask her that later. Also, it'd definitely put that cocky blue-haired bastard behind.' he laughed at that, having not enjoyed his cocky attitude. 'Threatened to wreck my shop, not a way to my good business side.'

Levy watched him closely as he thought, growing anxious about his response. 'Please, say you'll help. I don't know what else to do...' she began to inspect him, looking at the piercings that covered his face and arm. 'A handsome man like that couldn't deny a request after he already helped me hide fr- wait? Did I seriously just call him handsome? Now isn't the time to be admirin- I'm not admiring him! NO. No way. Fairy Tail, I need to get back to Fairy Tail.'

"Well?" she asked, worry in her voice.

"Tsk. Calm yerself, shrimp-"

"My name is Levy! Le-v-y!" she cut him off.

"Yea, yea. Whatever pipsqueak," he retorted smirking. 'Kinda cute getting riled up, for a shrimp' he completely dismissed his thoughts.

"Its L- ah nevermind. Will you help or not?" she sighed in defeat.

"Well, I've already hid ya from that Council bastard already, might as well, but only if ya can promise a damn good payment," he answered. 'And it'll really put a thorn in that asshole's side,' he grinned. 'That would suffice for part of the payment.'

Levy jumped up in delight. "Thank you! I assure you, I'll be able to pay you when we reach my home!" A sigh of relief escaped her mouth, falling back down onto the bed.

"Tsk. Speaking of, what gang ya belong to?" he inquired, looking down at her as she laid back.

"Uhmmm… I can't say. Not yet, I can't let anyone know. In case someone finds out, they need to be kept safe," her voice grew heavy.

"Tsk. Fine, just as long as I get payment, I don't give a damn," he groaned, sighing as he stood up. "Alright, what's the plan?"

Levy looked up at the ceiling, considering that thought. 'That's a good question, what is the plan? Hmmm.'

"Well, we need to find a way out of here, and this town for that matter, without giving any hint to the patrol. If Jellal finds me, it's over. And if he finds out you're helping me, you'll get killed."

"Ain't gotta worry bout me, shrimp. I can care for myself, I'd beat that prick to death, he wouldn't stand a chance," he growled, thinking back again to how Jellal had demanded a look around.

"Well, I will worry. You're risking a lot to help me, there aren't any chances not to," she frowned, sitting up and hanging her head, staring at the iron floor.

"Whatever, shrimp," he turned his head away, an unknowing blush creeping up onto his face.

"Will you please stop calling me that?"

"Nope, yer a shrimp. Or would ya rather pipsqueak?" he smirked, hoping to rile her up again. He didn't know why, but he enjoyed teasing her. She wouldn't draw back in fear, like most people did.

"I'm- just forget it!" she exclaimed, giving up for a second time.

"Gihi" he chuckled, patting her head again before she swatted his arm away. 'Touchy, touchy. That's cute- wait what?' he shook his head of thoughts and looked down at her. 'Well, we can't go anywhere with her like that. She needs to get cleaned up,' he pulled up the iron floorboard once again, reaching down and pulling out a box.

Levy jumped, startled at the man's sudden movements as he lifted the floorboard, curious as to the box he pulled out, she leaned to the side when he turned his cold gaze back towards her and she sat straight up, frozen. 'Now what!'

"Get undressed," he barked.

"EXCUSE ME!?" Levy's face turned a bright red before she reached over to grab a pillow and threw it at his face. "I AM NOT THAT KINDA GIRL!"

Gajeel caught the pillow with easy, tossing it back at her as she yelled, catching her off guard. "NOT WHAT I MEANT, DUMBASS!" he turned to the box, another blush creeping on his face at the thoughts her remarks brought up. 'seriously?! Not with the likes of that shrimp!'

"Ya look like shit. Get yerself cleaned up, there's a shower through that door. I have a few clothes that may fit ya in this box," he pulled it up and set it on her lap forcefully. "pick something to wear get cleaning, shrimp," he barked, turning back around to hide his blush. 'Damn woman.'

Levy's blush grew brighter as the box was set in her lap, looking nervously down at it. "W-well you could have said that in the first place! Rather than just demand me to get undressed, pervert!" she stood up and walked towards the door he mentioned. 'God, you may be attractive, but you have no social skills what so eve- What the hell am I saying?! Attractive?! Yeah right! Just stop thinking Levy, you're tired and delusional.'

"I ain't no pervert, shrimp! Just clean yerself up, I'm gonna get some shit together," he growled, his head still turned away. 'It's not like anyone would want someone so underdeveloped anyways. No fun… though the heigh- The fuck am I sayin'!' he punched the table, causing Levy to squeal. 'Ha! Scared the shrimp,'

Levy proceeded to the shower room after being startled by the brute's sudden outburst. 'How did I end up in this mess?! Oh yeah, you wanted to play the genius hacking hero role,' she sighed, closing the door behind her.

'What an arrogant… jerk!' Levy caught herself, trying to calm herself down as she ran the water. 'Oh, that's actually pretty warm,' she smiled, stepping into the steamy enclosed space. It was a tiny little boxed area with a opaque glass door. There were tiny shelves along the ceramic walls, containing several bottles. 'I'm surprised this isn't a metal shower' she chuckled to herself.

She enjoyed the heat of the water, scrubbing shampoo into her hair. 'Sweet Mavis, this feels amazing, how did I not realized how icky my hair was until now… Gajeel was kind enough to let me use his shower. And help me, I should probably thank him properly, even if he is rude.' she felt the warm water soak her hair, cleaning the shampoo out. 'besides, he doesn't seem that bad, just terrible at social skills. Least he thought of- wait. Why does he have clothing he thinks will fit me?! Don't tell me he has women over all the time?! I mean, I could see how- what am I saying?!'

She quickly switched the water to cold in order to stop her train of thought. 'Oh geez, shouldn't have done that!' she quickly swapped it back to warm after squealing from the sudden temperature drop. 'I'll just ask him why he has clothing like that when I get back out, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation to it… drats. I'm still thinking about that!' she huffed and began to lather her body in soap, taking some of the pressure off her mind. 'I really needed this...' she fell into bliss, feeling clean once again.

Gajeel heard the door from the restroom open up. 'about damn time, shrimp took forever,' he thought, he glanced over and saw her walk out in a small orange, sleeveless dress, with a black frilly pattern around the neckline. She also had black leggings and arm sleeves that had matched the dress itself, her blue hair flowing down still a bit damp. 'Whoa,' was all that came to mind.

Levy looked up at him, then back down slightly nervous as she watched him stare intently at her. "T-thanks, for the clothing," she sheepishly spoke before bowing slightly.

"Yeah, no problem. I had no use for them," he scoffed turning away, scratching the back of his head. 'She cleaned up nice.'

"Sorry to ask, but why DO you have these, anyways? A whole box?" she inquired, sitting herself back on the bed. Her hair fell down into her field of vision, and tried to swipe it to the side, failing miserably.

"Family member, she moved a few years back, and outgrew most of what she had left so I threw them down in the bunker," he answered, watching her mess with her hair.

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm glad they were able to fit. Thank you," she smiled, thanking him again, still struggling with her hair. 'See, perfectly reasonable explanation,' she sighed in relief. 'N-not that it mattered!'

"I said don't worry about it, shrimp," her head hung lower as that came out, obviously still annoyed with the nickname he had given her. "What's the problem with yer hair?"

"What? Oh, yeah, that," she grumbled as she continued trying to manage her long bangs. "I normally have some sort of headband, but I must have lost it when I was on the run from Jellal," she sighed in defeat as she gave up trying to configure her bangs.

"Tsk," Gajeel huffed, standing up and heading to one of his drawers, pulling out a pitch black shirt. He bit into the bottom of it, causing it to tear around. He pulled off the circular fabric, then ripped it, tossing it towards Levy. "There, use that, then ya can see properly," he grumbled.

Levy looked up when the black fabric landed in her lap, watching him toss the ripped shirt aside. "Oh, you… didn't have to," she blushed slightly, wrapping the makeshift headband up into her hair. 'Much better, guess he really isn't all that bad. still unsociable,' she smiled. "Thank you."

"Stop with all the thanks, its annoyin'. Just better off than wearing that shit you had earlier," he barked.

'I repeat, unsociable.'

"Anyways, I'll be getting cleaned up now, then we'll plan from there. Got it, shrimp?" he chuckled, walking off to the shower room, closing the door loudly behind him.

"It's Levy…" she sighed, throwing her head back into the soft pillow. 'I get the feeling I'll never hear my name out of that jerk's mouth.'

Author's Note:

After writing up Chapter 5, I really really wanted to get going with chapter 6. so after tinkering around a tad figuring out Windows 10 some more (literally the greatest idea to upgrade ever) I motivated myself to get on that! And here we go! I hope you liked it :) hehe can you feel the GaLe ship getting ready to set sail?! Anyways, be sure to comment and review. and Thank You everyone for reading. Share with your friends!


	7. Chapter 7: The Departure

Levy was quietly lying on Gajeel's bed, staring up at the number of holes that riddled the ceiling. She had grabbed an apple out of his fridge a few minutes after he had went to clean himself up. ' _76… 80… 84… 87. 87 holes up there, what is that from?'_ she questioned, curious as to their nature. She heard a noise as Gajeel opened the door from the shower room.

Her face grew red as he walked out, only in a pair of what looked like old military slacks covered in pockets. He had a sleeve over his right arm from just below the shoulder down, as well as a gloveo over his right hand, but that eluded her gaze as water clinged to his bare chest as he dried his hair in a towel, showing off his defined abs and upper body muscles. ' _Oh dear, he's...'_ her mind wandered off with different thoughts, each one causing her face to turn red even further, unaware he had noticed her staring.

Gajeel looked over to her, noticing her flustered face and gaze. "Like somethin' ya see, shrimp?" he smirked, tossing the towel aside to a basket filled with dirty clothing. Levy quickly turned away, embarrassed. She hid her face in her hands, shaking her head vigorously.

"N-n-no! Y-you just… sur-surprised me! T-that's a-all,' she stammered. ' _Crap! Was I staring?! Think nothing of it, Levy. Just a guy with his shirt off. You'd seen it tons of times. Gray, yeah! Gray always stripped, and whenever Fairy Tail would have their little playful brawls, shirts would get ripped and removed. Elfman, Natsu, nothing different here!'_ she reasoned with herself, attempting to glance back over at the half naked man. He stood there smirking, and she quickly turned away flustered still. "Just, throw a shirt on!" she yelled, tossing a pillow at him.

' _Got her riled up again. Tsk, probably never seen a man naked before. Gihi,'_ he smiled, before heading over to a dresser and picking out one of his single sleeved shirts, sliding it over himself before sitting himself down next to the blushing maiden. "There, calm down now, shrimp."

Levy peeked over to see him fully clothes, as her blush began to fade. ' _That was, well different,'_ she thought, shaking her head to return focus on the task at hand. "Thank you."

"Gihi, yer the one who was starin'," he retorted, patting her head again.

"Was not! I just… shut up," she slapped away his arm again, turning towards him. "Back to the matter at hand, now what? Jellal and his men are still scouring the town for me, how are we to escape?"

' _Gihi, won't admit she liked it,'_ he smirked before answering. "Leave that to me. I got us a way outta here, ya ain't gotta worry," he stood up, rummaging through several of his dressers for clothing, stuffing it into a duffle bag. He tossed one over to Levy. "Hey, shrimp, go pick out some more of them clothes from the box, just in case, toss them in that," he ordered. She nodded, walking over to the box, and picking out several of the outfits to stuff in her bag.

' _It's going to be a long way home, isn't it?'_ she sighed, glancing back over at the man, watching him stash clothing and supplies into his duffle. ' _But, he still seems decent, and very attra- nope. Now isn't the time Levy, you just met him, and he's a jerk! Probably a total player too!'_

Gajeel glanced over to the small girl, and she quickly averted her gaze back to her duffle. ' _Why was- nevermind, need to get our shit together, head out soon. Who knows if that asshole will be on his way back or not. The sooner we get outta here, the sooner I get the job done, the quicker I get paid,'_ he smirked, keeping his eye on the prize. ' _Besides, its the right thing to do, damne- wait? What?! Who cares about the right or wrong thing, I just want to get paid,'_ he growled out loud at his thoughts, causing Levy to jump.

"What's wrong now, why are you growling?" he turned towards him, curious.

"It's nothin', shrimp! Just get to packin'!" he barked.

She quickly returned to filling up her bag, puffing her cheeks. ' _What a jerk! What's his deal anyway!'_ she fussed, closing up her bag. "I'm done," she spoke sternly.

"Good, I'm almost finished. We'll take our leave in a few, get ready to head out," he said, tossing over a large cloak to her. "Put that on, can't have anyone seein' ya," he yelled over to her, throwing one over himself.

Levy nodded and wrapped herself in the cloak, feeling the material. ' _This is canvas… it'll provide good protection from the rain, he really is prepared for something like this. Guess I got lucky, coming across this place,'_ she smiled, standing beside the door as Gajeel finished arming himself in several weapons, hidden among his clothes. He picked up a fairly large box, hooking it to the top of his duffle, and sliding a large sheathed blade between his back and the bag.

"Alright, keep quiet, and follow my lead," he commanded, opening the door and leading her to the side of the building.

"Do you have some sort of bac-"

"I said keep quiet, shrimp!" he whispered, covering her mouth with his hand. "Just follow me, don't ask any questions damn it," he continued on, walking them through rows of metallic scrap heaps, taking caution to their steps. He slowly moved a large plated scrap piece, a little pathway revealing itself. "Get in here," he pulled her in, sealing the entrance behind the two.

Levy glanced around, it was a tiny spacing, and ended just a few feet ahead. "Uhmm… Gajeel? How exactly are we supposed to get out of the town from in here?"

"Just wait a minute, shrimp. Quit yer yappin', or do you not want my help?!" he growled and she shrank into a corner, nodding quietly. Gajeel then brushed away some dirt from the ground, revealing a iron plate and lifted it up, much like the one within his house. "Down there, now!" he grumbled, as she made her way down the dark tunnel. He followed closely behind, overhearing the shouts of men from outside his scrapyard. ' _Gihi, guess they asked around. Found out who I was. Didn't expect them to figure it out as fast!'_ he smirked before quietly closing the tunnel after him, and lighting a lantern within the dark passage.

"Alright, shrimp. Stick close, don't want ya gettin' lost down here. Gihi," he laughed, leading the lady down the tunnel.

* * *

Jellal had been walking for a few hours, inquiring quite forcefully about the whereabouts of the runaway girl. ' _Where could she be? It is highly unlikely she has skipped this flea ridden dump,'_ he began to grow frustrated, eventually ending up at a hospital. ' _Hmmm, perhaps I've been asking the wrong questions. Not where she is, but where someone might go?'_ he smirked, recalling most of his past inquiries. Nothing oblivious came to mind, and it had been several hours.

He reached for his communicator, sitting himself down upon a local bench to rest momentarily. "Mikazuchi, this is Lt. Colonel, report? Over," he spoke, hoping his Gunnery Sergeant would have had better luck.

"Sir, no leads. It would seem none have seen the female around here, sir. Over," a crackly reply came through.

' _Hmmm, time to switch up tactics,'_ he furrowed his eyebrows. "Begin questioning where one might go for assistance? Instead, inquire about where one might go for assistance? Or for a job that would require more refined skills than their own. Over," he ordered, hoping it would shed some light upon this quandary.

"Yes, sir. I shall relay the information to the others. I'll notify you as soon as possible upon any leads. Over."

' _Good, this should provide some more insight on her whereabouts. I will catch you, Miss McGarden, for your treason.'_ he groaned, growing weary from the exhausting day, but not giving into the temptation of extended rest. ' _I will not sto-'_ his thoughts interrupted by the sound of his communicator.

"Lt. Colonel, sir! Private Vanish, sir! After overhearing the change in questioning directive, I learned that there is a mercenary within this city. Several of the citizens occasionally request assistance from him when neces-"

"Enough! Just give me a location! Immediately!" Jellal yelled, a smile appearing on his face.

"Sir! Some scrapyard on the South Eastern part of town, sir! Over."

Rage grew in Jellal's eyes, standing up immediately and rushing to the scrap yard. ' _That bastard! He tricked us, I'm sure of it!'_

"MIKAZUCHI! YOU HEARD HIM, I WANT THE WHOLE DAMN PLATOON OVER THERE, IMMEDIATELY!" he screamed, rushing back towards the scrap yard. ' _Both he and that wretched woman will pay!'_

* * *

Jellal arrived, adrenaline rushed almost simultaneously as Mikazuchi had at the front entrance to the scrap yard. "Alright, men! Squad A, cover the Southern side! B, you'll take the Eastern! D, Western! Mikazuchi, you and C will accompany me into the heap! E, you retain position here and make sure no one comes out! Secure the perimeter! We mustn't let them escape!" he commanded, each squad taking their respective places around the scrap yard.

Simon nodded, motioning his men into the confines of the yard. "Men, search the area!" he yelled, squad C breaking formation and checking the various wreckages and piles of metal while he followed Jellal to the entry of the workshop.

Jellal busted the door open in furious rage, taking a quick glance around. "Where is that bastard!?" he screamed, kicking a small box of clothing that lay beneath him. ' _That bastard tricked me! He'll pay!'_

"Sir, look here. A note!" Simon pulled a knife from the wall, holding up a small piece of paper. Jellal turned towards him, taking the paper from his hands.

 _ **Sorry boys. Business is business. Client asked for help couldn't turn a blind eye. Next time ask for help nicely could get you somewhere.**_

 _ **-Black Steel Gajeel**_

Jellal growled, crumpling up the note in his fist. "Business is business, huh? Well, it's my business to bring that bitch in, and kill anyone who tries to help," he smirked. He walked outside of the shop. "Alright men! We got a new target to add to our list. He's a mercenary, so he'll probably have an escape route somewhere in this shithole! Find it!" he screamed.

Simon watched as the men scramble around, searching for any clue to their whereabouts, then turned his attention to Jellal. His face was smiling with such a malicious intent. ' _Jellal… what has happened to you...'_ he thought, worrying for the condition of his friend.

Jellal looked around, seeing sets of tracks within the mud. "Oh, what's this? Another lead?" he began to follow the footprints, Simon behind him, leading to a stack of metal towards the back of the compound. He gazed at the stack, noticing the large single plate that the tracks lead to. "Mikazuchi, help me with this."

Simon nodded, taking the left side of the plate and helping Jellal pull it down. A small little cavern lay behind the plate. Simon entered it slowly, looking down at an iron ground door. "Well, looks like entrance to an underground passageway," he began.

"It's not just an entrance, it's a lead. Leading us directly to our targets," Jellal smiled, crouching down next to Simon. "Gather a few of the men, notify the squads around the perimeter, we're following them. Lets see where this leads."


	8. Chapter 8: The Escape

**Author's Note: I want to apologize for the slow update. This past week, I've been extremely lazy and just sat around, reading. (mostly countless GaLe fanfics) BUT I've typed up this chapter from a nice little relax mode. I've also suffered severe writer's block and hopefully this chapter will meet expectations. And excited to continue on with the story! Hope you all have been enjoying it so far. Mwahaha! Let us continue as see what we've instore in this chapter.**

Gajeel rushed himself and Levy down the corridors of the tunnel, it had only been several minutes from when asshat and his merry men began their search of the compound. ' _Dunno if I'll be able to stay on good terms after this, but I do what I do. Shrimp here better be grateful!'_ he thought to himself, grumbling and snickering at the same time. It felt good to get back at Jellal for his prior asshole attitude. He knew it wouldn't be long until they found the passageway, but luckily, he had a contingency plan. He smirked as he dragged the small woman along the tunnel, looking ahead for a support beam.

Levy quietly rushed behind the tall man, worried unaware of the events unfolding at the scrap yard. She had felt safe knowing they had a way out of the town without being detected. ' _Here's to a hopeful esca-'_ the sounds of echoing voices from behind the pair made their presence, and she turned back in horror, freezing.

"Follow this passage! They have a headstart on us! We must capture them!" echoed to their position, causing Levy to panic, scared the two would get cornered.

Gajeel stopped, looking back at the young woman, before smirking. "Hey, hey. Don't think they're gonna be able to get us that easy, tsk," he grumbled, grabbing her hand and forcing her to continue onward. "I've got a little trick up my sleeve, let's keep movin' shrimp!" he barked, pulling her forcefully back to reality as she continued to run alongside him. His eyes kept to the wall, in search for a support beam to crash down and provide blockage for the pair.

A few minutes of running and Gajeel spotted what he'd been looking for, ' _Gihi, this will stop 'em right in their tracks. Poor bastards,'_ he grinned, slowing himself down as he approached the beam. He placed his lantern up on a hook protruding from the cavern wall. "Listen, move on ahead, I'll be right behind ya! Gonna take care of pest control," he smirked. Levy stopped as he stood his ground, facing the direction of the oncoming voices.

"What are you doing?! We need to keep moving!" she panicked, trying to pull his left arm along to keep moving ahead. She failed to make him budge, and looked up at him worriedly.

"Shrimp, I told ya, I got a surprise for them knuckleheads. Ain't nobody gettin' past here anytime soon," he grinned, arrogance filling his voice.

She looked at him confused, when she glanced down at his person, she realized his right hand held a chain. She followed it back up several meters to see it hooked around a support beam and gasped. ' _He's gonna cave the tunnel in here! Wow… he really does have a plan for something like this… amazing,'_ a light blush touched her cheeks as she stared at him in unconscious admiration, before nodding and moving back a few meters, but refusing to continue on without him.

After a few minutes of silently waiting, the echos of running footsteps slowly increased in sound, and the light of soldiers lanterns could be seen from the dimly lit tunnel. Gajeel picked up the lantern, and readied himself to pull on the chain. "Yo, bastards!" he screamed, the echo reverberating throughout the cavern. "Say hello to yer boss for me! Enjoy my treat!" he tugged on the chain tightly, the support beam coming out the wall. The soldiers stopped abruptly as the ceiling of the passageway collapsed, creating a large cloud of dirt and dust. He covered his face with his left arm, carrying the lantern before letting out a howl of laughter, and turning his attention back to the bluenette and patting her head. "What'd I tell ya, good luck gettin' past that! Gihi!"

Levy stood there speechless. ' _He took out the support beam in one pull. He had that there for situations like this! Who exactly is this guy…'_ her mouth gaped in awe, noticing the dust cloud began its way towards her. Not paying any attention to the patting of her head, she covered her face and looked up at him. Smiling, she nodded as they continued onwards down the dark tunnel.

* * *

Jellal proceeded with a steady pace, Simon closely following behind him. They had sent several soldiers ahead of them to ascertain the exit to the tunnel. ' _Hmmm. They've a massive head start. Most likely already made it out of this wretched passage,'_ Jellal growled, anger welling up inside him at the thought of their advantage. "I won't allow them to live! I won't allow them to remain ahead! We'll get you bastards, I promise."

Suddenly, a large crash was heard from ahead. The echo of coughing could be heard, and Jellal and Simon increased their pace leading on deeper into the tunnel.

"Sir! A trap perhaps? That sounded like a collapse of the passageway," Simon spoke out.

"Most likely, Mikazuchi. Hurry, from the sounds, its less than 100 meters away," Jellal replied, further increasing his running speed.

After running about 50 meters, the soldiers sent ahead had began to double back, coughing slightly as they slowed upon seeing Jellal and Simon.

"Sir, we had caught sight of the fugitive and mercenary. They were waiting in just ahead, but the ceiling collapsed as soon as they were in sight. The mercenary screamed out saying 'enjoy my treat' just before the cave in," one of the privates spoke out.

Jellal at this time began growling angrily. ' _They wouldn't have waited to do that until now! There was no hours of head start advantage! They made it down here minutes before our arrival!'_ he punched the wall, cracking a few of the rocks. "That bastard, he's toying with us!"

"Sir, it seems as though the tunnel seems pretty straight forward to the East, perhaps we can cut them off at an exit point if we can find one?" Mikazuchi pointed out, watching Jellal tremble in anger.

"Right. Chances are, there is no radio connection down here. We're to double back immediately. When in service, radio squads A and B to head East. Send out a few horseback scouts. Scour the entirely of areas East, with any luck we'll be able to find ourselves their exit. The other squads will leave when we have removed ourselves from the scrapyard, to which we will immediately move out and follow A and B eastward. Move out!" Jellal commanded, receiving 'Yes, sir!' from the soldiers, and made haste back to where they had entered. ' _Damn it all to Hell!'_

* * *

Gajeel was laughing obnoxiously as they continued down the tunnel. "Gihihi, that was priceless. I bet they were shivering in fear from that little cave in! Gihihi!"

Levy, now beside the man, was also laughing quite softly. "I'm just glad you were able to hold them off. But, wait," she paused for thought. "T-they were literally right behind us! We could have been stuck in your home when they came! What if we hadn't left yet and they came while we were still preparing! And why is this tunnel here anyways!" she shouted, confused.

"Tsk. Relax, shrimp. F-"

"It's Levy!" she pouted.

"Hey, pipe down, shrimp," she huffed in defeat. "As I was sayin'… They didn't come until we began to leave. Even if they had made it while we were still inside, I'd have tossed ya down in the bunker and made up some bullshit excuse. As for this tunnel, I have no idea. My pops did this, told me about it when I was young. He was a merc too, never told me how or why he made it, never really questioned it. Hell, I've only had to use it one other time before this, and didn't even need to cave the damn thing in at that time," he grumbled. ' _Wait, why am I answerin' her damned questions? Shouldn't matter either way! Tsk.'_

Levy just nodded, adrenaline still a tad rushed since realizing the close call, but was calming down. "So, your dad made this huh? Guess it is pretty magnificent he was able to accomplish it, makes me wonder how?" she gazed all around at the relatively fine craftsmanship that went into the tunnel, and noticing another chained support beams, giggling to herself. ' _Guess he was a tad paranoid too. I think thats the 3rd one I've seen since he pulled that first one,'_ she glanced over at man running beside her, smiling. ' _He really did save my life, could have traded me in at any time, he really isn't all that bad? Still, needs some work on his social skills, but I bet he's a big softie inside. How cute,'_ she felt her face heat up, and turned her attention back to the path before her. ' _What am I thinking?! Now isn't the time for delusions! I mean… ugh! Levy. Just shut up and focus on running, bef-'_ her thoughts halted immediately as her foot snagged against a rock. Caught off guard, she tumbled forward and braced herself for impact by throwing her arms up in front of her face and closing her eyes. ' _Too late...'_

However, instead of a hard landing and possibly scratched up arms, she felt a sudden tug on her bag, nearly knocking the wind out of her. She was pulled back up forcefully, dangling from the straps of her duffle, legs dangling several centimeters above ground, looking up at piercing red eyes that met hers.

"Hey, hey. Watch where the hell yer goin' shrimp! I'm pretty sure ya'd like to get home in one piece!" Gajeel barked, eyes furrowed. "or are ya just as clumsy as ya are short? Gihi-" a smirk appeared, lightening his previously serious face.

Levy face grew pink, noticing the closeness of their faces as he held her above ground. She was completely oblivious to both clumsy and height remarks, staring intently into his gorgeous red eyes. ' _He was paying attention. He actually caught me before I landed,'_ he blush grew deeper, mouth slightly agape as he continued to ramble on about her being more careful.

"-ful. Got it, shrimp? Hello? Hey shrimp, ya there?" he tilted his head in confusion, she was just staring at him, face flustered. He set her down quickly, reality coming back to the girl.

"S-sorry! T-thank you!" she bowed, trying to regain her composure.

"Tsk. Just watch where yer goin' and don't trip again," he huffed, turning his attention back down the pathway, placing his hand behind his head. "'Sides, we're almost outta here, just a few more meters," he continued to walk on, leaving the embarrassed girl behind him.

' _Big softie. Thanks Gajeel,'_ she smiled brightly, thanking him again, mentally, before quickly catching up to him, spending the rest of the trek in a comfortable silence.

* * *

"Squads A and B, head East immediately, the fugitive set a trap. Be on the look out! Also, report any possible exits from the underground tunnels! Move out! Over," Simon yelled out into his communicator as soon as connection made it viable to contact as they neared the entrance to the passage. "D, C, E meet at entrance to the scrap yard, await further orders from the Lt. Colonel!"

Jellal silently climbed out of the tunnel, rushing to the entrance of the scrap heap. Anger flooded his eyes, calculating the time passed and distance of the tunnel within his mind, formulating a strategic strike.

His voice boomed the instant he was outside of the yard, addressing his men. "Listen up, men! Our fugitive and her damned merc dog are not too far ahead. Mikazuchi and I have established that the female is headed East, thus narrowing our search area. Given the time passed from our doubling back, they may already be out in the open. I want a hard-target search of any possible exit, foliage, caravans, persons, groups, towns and abandoned buildings extending out to a semi-radius of 5 kilometers Eastward! We'll set up checkpoint in 15 kilometers! We will capture Black Steel Gajeel and our traitor, Levy McGarden! Go get them! MOVE OUT!"


	9. Chapter 9: The Rest

Levy could hear the faint sound of rushing water above them as they reached a ladder at the end of the passageway. Looking up, she saw nothing but rock. ' _What's up there…?'_ she wondered, various ideas flowing through her mind. She turned to Gajeel who had been just a few feet behind her. He had a somewhat zoned off appearance, looking deep in thought.

' _Well I wonder how much damage they'll be doin' to the shop. Damn it all, what have I gotten into. Gihi, unless they'll be too preoccupied to findin' us to just abandon it! May be a damned government, but all of them are nothin' but pompous pricks! Give 'em a few weeks, they'll forget I even exist. Business is business, and they're sure to have other matters to attend to, right? Damn, why am I even worried about this. I could easily take that bastard and put him in his place. Just doin' a job right? An-'_ Gajeel froze in his tracks just in front of Levy, a sudden realization hitting him.

Levy, quite startled by his abrupt halt, tilted her head in confusion. "Gajeel?"

"Damn it all to Hell! One month! ONE! It took me one month to get around to that blasted thing! And suddenly I'm whisked away on a damned job helpin' some shrimp and who knows when I'll be able to get back around to that damned 'D'!" he yelled, punching the rock wall with his gloved right hand, creating a slight crater into the wall.

Levy jumped back, shaking from his sudden, and confusing, outburst. Her back pressed to the rocks, her mind trying to comprehend what exactly he had just screamed. ' _One month? What's he mean, and… wait,'_ her brows suddenly became furrowed. "Hey! I'm right here you know! My name is Levy, I'm not some shrimp! And what the heck are you going on about one month?! You're the one who agreed to help me, you backing out now?! After all that crap that just happened?!"

Gajeel glanced over to her, taken aback by her questions. ' _She just…'_ he was trying to wrap his mind around exactly what she had just said. Rarely did anyone ever 'talk back' to Gajeel. Even if they did, it were people who had the stature to back it up, or the ability to put up a hell of a fight before he pummeled them into their place. But here she was, this little pipsqueak, who probably had no possible training in fighting, going off on him for his frustration over a simple fix-er-up project. ' _Got some serious balls there, shrimp,'_ he chuckled.

Levy stood there, still dead set on getting an answer out of him, disregarding the fact he was almost twice her size and easily capable of retaliating without a sweat. "Well? What's so funny?!"

Gajeel busted out laughing, holding his arms around his gut as if it had blown. ' _Balls, shrimp. Balls,'_ he stifled his laugh enough to be able to speak. "Well, Shrimp," he put emphasis in his voice as he said _shrimp_ , "I realized that thanks to this little escapade of yers, right when I was in the middle of fixin' up that damned sign to my shop, that took me a month to finally work up the effort to get around to, I get dragged into yer game of cat and mouse! Now who knows when I'll be gettin' around to that damned thing!" he put on a more serious face, cold stare piercing towards her, in attempts to scare her.

Levy stared back at him, dumbfounded. ' _He's… getting worked up… over a sign?'_ she completely ignored his hardened gaze, staring back into his eyes. "So, after the fact you are helping me, pissing off a member of the Council, and possibly in danger… you are upset because you couldn't finish fixing up a damned sign that you laid off for a damned month of your own free will and decide to blame me for your damned laziness!?" her voice rising in anger steadily, brows returning to their furrowed state.

Gajeel was once again taken aback. She had literally ignored his death glare, and was now giving one of her own. ' _Who the hell is this lady?'_ his internal remarks did not reflect his external looks. He remained looking rather angered and annoyed. "Hey! Yer the one who wanted the help. I ain't lazy! Just… had other stuff to get around to," he lied, glancing to the side to avoid her gaze. "Besides, only one in danger is that blue-haired pisspot and whoever else gets in my way," he grunted, turning his attention to the ladder beside them. "Now are we gonna get goin' or ya gonna sulk around here all day?"

Levy nodded quietly, giving up on their pointless argument, still wrapping the concept of the sign's importance around her mind. ' _Well, either he's strong enough to be confidently worried about only that… or just plain stupid,'_ she let out a sigh.

Gajeel smirked as he saw her look of defeat, and turned towards the ladder, slowly climbing it. He reached up, pushing a large rock that covered the entrance. A small bit of light shone down into the cavern, and the sound of crashing water increased. He pulled himself through, and Levy quickly peeked her head up out of the cavern.

It was a tiny cavern hidden behind a small waterfall. Levy pulled herself up, and brushed off any dust on her. Gajeel replaced the large rock back onto the entrance to the passageway. "Alrighty, now that we're through, we'll have to hurry. Chances are that bastard has a pretty decent idea where we're at. C'mon, Shrimp," He spoke, throwing his hood up before passing through the waterfall quickly.

Levy nodded quietly. ' _Well, hopefully they'll be lost… this little exit is hardly noticeable… Gajeel, you better know what you're doing,'_ she thought to herself, lifting her hood up and passing through the waterfall. The stream they had stepped into was fairly shallow, not causing too much concern to getting drenched. "Where to now, Gajeel?" she inquired, following him onto land.

"Tsk, if that bastard has any right mind, probably sent some scouts in a vague direction to see if we've come out. So we need to be careful, and stick to the forest here," he whispered, eyes alert upon his surroundings. "Got that shrimp?"

"It's Levy… and yes, I understand. We need to head North-East. Do you have any way to keep us along the same path of the main trade route?" she questioned. "My destination is nearby the town of Magnolia, think we can pull this off?"

Gajeel smirked as he turned to look her dead in the eyes, causing Levy to blush at the closeness as their nose nearly made contact. "Who do ya think I am? Some amateur? I'll get ya home, don't be so unsure of my skills," he spoke arrogantly. "and yes, I do happen to know of Magnolia, been there on business a few times in the past."

Levy blinked, face flustered as his red-eyes gazed into hers. She was mesmerized by them. Captivated, and she couldn't explain why. "Al-alright, then l-lead the w-way, G-gajeel," she stuttered unconsciously, not breaking the gaze between each other.

Gajeel nodded, leaning back away, keeping up the eye contact. He'd noticed her semi-dazed stare. ' _The hell? Why is she spacin' out?'_ he begun to wave his hand in front of her face, before she snapped back to reality. "You in there, shrimp?" he chuckled.

Levy shook her head, coming out of the captivating hold his eyes held on her. ' _Whoa, did I just space out?'_ she glanced back up at him smiling. "Sorry. Must have spaced out!" she let out a nervous chuckle. ' _I mean… your eye are just… so gorgeous. How could anyone not space out!'_ her cheek grew pink at her thoughts, and shook her head again in attempts to rid herself of them.

Gajeel just raised his eyebrow in confusion, leaning back further and giving her a once over. "Okay? Well, let's get movin', shrimp. Who knows when Jellal's errand boys will be around here. Burnin' time," he turned back towards the forest, and began to survey the terrain. ' _Alright, Northeast huh? The trade route is a few kilometers just North of us, we'll want to avoid that for the time bein'. I'm sure pisspot will be searchin' that route and anyone who goes on it. Keepin' to the forest may slow us down, but it'll be better in case of a detailed search,'_ he growled at the idea of trekking in the forest. He turned to make sure that Levy was still behind, before continuing forward, away from the sun that would begin to set in a few hours.

* * *

Jellal followed the main route for some time, occasionally getting a messaging from his communications device. None of the scouts or parties had found any trace of the fugitive and mercenary. And he had been unlucky as well, with every group of persons not being whom he searched for. It was getting rather annoying, and tiresome. ' _I refuse to let them get away, but they could be anywhere. Blasted all… with the hour growing late, it'll be near impossible to navigate those woods either. I'm certain they are hiding within them. And this Black Steel Gajeel is rather a thorn in my side, I'm sure he'll have found a way to continue within the darkness.'_ Jellal rubbed his temples, growling with further anger.

Simon glanced over at him as he walked over, having just finished another inspection upon a carriage. "Sir, with darkness settling in, chances are we'll be unable to proceed further with the mission at this time. I suggest we make camp and await until daybreak, sir," he spoke up.

Jellal groaned, turning to Simon, before nodding. "Fortunately for you, I am inclined to agree. The conditions do not favor us. Round up the platoon, we'll settle camp at Alpha," he huffed out, exhausted. He and his platoon hadn't had as much as a wink in rest over the last 2 days. And while he'd rather die than admit it, he needed the sleep. ' _I won't give up. Come morning, I'll scour the entirety of this forest. I'll burn it to the ground if I must.'_

"Attention all units, return to checkpoint Alpha, over," Simon spoke into his communicator, nodding to Jellal. ' _About time, nearly the whole platoon is about to drop dead from exhaustion,'_ he groaned, leaning into a chair as a fireplace was lit. He glanced over to Jellal, watching the light from the flames dance across his face, his expression that of seriousness.

Within several minutes, the whole platoon had returned and set up the remainder of camp, yet Jellal's concentration remained fixed on the fires that glowed brightly in the growing darkness. ' _Jellal...'_ Simon worried for his friend. Who had he become, and why? Perhaps it was the stress of the job. When they first started out all those years ago, he had been a kind person. But within the last 16 months, he had grown increasingly aggressive and cold hearted. ' _Why? Has the job gotten to you? What's changed you Jellal...'_ Simon shook his head, and attempted to forget his questions for now. He needed rest, for he knew there would be a long day ahead tomorrow, and dwelling on such thoughts would surely keep sleep away from him. He stood and walked over to his tent, leaving his CO and friend behind to continue his gaze into the fire pit.

* * *

Levy tripped forward once again, causing a groan of frustration from Gajeel. "Hey, shrimp. Watch where yer goin', That's like the 100th time in the last five minutes that ya've tripped," he sighed, picking her up by the collar of the cloak once again to help her up.

"Excuse me! I'm sorry, I'm not some nocturnal creature who has mystical night vision! The sun set half an hour ago! Of course I'm going to have issues walking! And it was more like 10th time, thank you very much!" she growled back, getting rather annoyed with the inconsiderate mercenary.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, we don't have the time or luxury to stop right now. Yer the one who wanted to get home so quickly, right? Then stop complainin' and get movin'! Besides, who knows where asshat is, or any of his men."

"Gajeel… If I can't see where I'm going, how am I supposed to keep up with you! It'd be counter productive if I ended up getting hurt due to your recklessness from walking in a thick, dark forest in the middle of the night!" she yelled, stomping her foot down and snapping a fallen branch. "And as for Jellal, we are not close enough to the main route for anyone to take notice! and even if he was following by some miracle, pretty sure you'd have to be a madman to continue in this pitch darkness in a forest so thick! I can't even see the moon!" she huffed, exhaustion taking its toll.

"Gehe, one madman accounted for," he grinned, giving himself a thumbs up, his teeth shimmering in the dark atmosphere. "I've pretty muched lived in the night, so many jobs required of it, so my eyes have grown accustom to it. But fine, if yer gonna be all huffy puffy about it, we'll settle for camp. But no fires! We don't need to be broadcastin' to yer little fan club where we're at! Got it?" he growled, crossing his arms as he leaned against a large tree.

Levy nodded, smiling slightly. "Thank you, I needed the rest, I haven't had much since...well, since before I was being hunted down." her smile disappeared as fast as it arrived. She thought back on all that happened, and wondering how she was going to make it out of this mess alive. She leaned back upon a trunk, and slid down to the ground, hugging her knees. She wasn't sure if she was shivering out of fear of a bleak, unknown future, or the chilly air that surrounded her. But she tried her best to disregard any negativity. She needed to rest, not to worry any further. She leaned back and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest, breathing deeply as exhaustion engulfed her and she began to nod off.

Gajeel grunted at her gratuity, looking off up into the darkness of the forest. "Tsk, whatever. Just get som-" he was interrupted by the sound of snoring. He turned his gaze to the small bluenette, she had already fallen asleep. ' _Damn it, shrimp. At least let me finish! Tsk. Must have been tired. Last chance of sleep you had was back at my place, and that didn't last long,'_ he groaned. He looked down at her and noticed she was shivering. He huffed slightly, before pulling his cloak off of himself, and gently wrapping it around her, being careful not to awaken her. ' _Tsk, guess these cloaks sure ain't the best insulation. Don't complain that I didn't do anythin' for ya,'_ sighing in relief when her shudders from coldness began to stop.

He quietly sat himself down across on a nearby trunk, leaning back as he listened to the weak snoring of the shrimp before him. "G'night, shrimp," he whispered, before falling into a light sleep himself.

 **Author's Note**

 **I want to apologize for such a long wait. It's been an extremely busy week for me, and only had a little bit each day to work on this chapter. And it was a rather bland and slow chapter to say the least. I assure you the next will be more upbeat and faster, I am rather dull with slow scenes, but I wish not to rush this story. I do hope you were able to at least enjoy the subtle cuteness of Gajevy, as well as a tad bit of foreshadowing. :) also Thank you all, I've reached 1600ish views! Now, who knows if that many people have actually read, or just skimmed over and thought 'eh nvm' but regardless, 1600ish peoples have acknowledged my work and I want to provide my thanks! I hope you all continue to enjoy! Until next time!**

 **-Tiggr out**


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